Duke University Study Promotes Lower Intensity Exercise

Duke University27.03.2014

There's a common misconception in the fitness world and those new to it that high intensity workouts equal more fat burned. That's not necessarily true, and in fact, is in itself an unnecessary thought.

Duke University released a study saying the opposite: lower intensity exercise burns fat, while more intense exercise burns carbohydrates. You can read more from Duke's case study here, but here is an excerpt from the study that we found particularly interesting:

“The exact mechanism whereby lower intensity exercise might confer greater health benefits than does higher intensity exercise is not clear. The same amount of exercise at a lower exercise intensity increases the percentage of energy coming from fat oxidation. Conversely, the higher intensity exercise group gets more of its energy from carbohydrate oxidation. While caution is certainly warranted and additional confirmatory studies are needed, taken together these data suggest that for metabolic health there may be some real advantages of moderate intensity exercise and the consumption of fat oxidation as a fuel.”